Entries in Diablo Cody
(11)

As previously mentioned, the three principals of Young Adult - writer Diablo Cody, director Jason Reitman and star Charlize Theron - are reuniting for a new movie. Now there is evidence it will only be a matter of months before we can see it. Tully started shooting in Vancouver and there are pictures to prove it. This is cause for some excitement around these parts where there are many Young Adult fans, no?

The new comedy tells the story of Marlo (Theron) — a mother of three, including a newborn — who is gifted a night nanny by her brother. Hesitant at the extravagance at first, she comes to form a unique bond with the thoughtful, surprising and sometimes challenging young nanny named Tully (played by Mackenzie Davis). You might know Davis from The Martian (2015) or the AMC TV show Halt and Catch Fire, this though looks to possibly be her big breakout, playing the title character and all. Ron Livingston - who will always be remembered as Carrie's awful boyfriend Jack Berger Post-It Man in Sex and the City- is also in the cast. Let's hope he's not as awful this time, if he's playing Theron's partner.

Manuel here. Much of the conversation following the nominations has deservedly been about the way this year’s nominees function in many ways as a litmus test for the larger pitfalls of the Academy and the industry at large. Take the screenplay categories. As Phyllis Nagy urged us, we should be celebrating the fact that four female screenwriters were nominated for four different films. It sounds like a cause worth celebrating until you realize a total of twenty screenwriters were cited overall. You have to admit, those are appalling (if yes, unsurprising) numbers. Actually, in the past ten years, only 17 out of 156 nominated screenwriters have been women. Three quick stats about this year's categories and how they may show we might be turning a corner.

01 The last time we had two female nominees in the Best Original Screenplay category was in 2011 when Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo earned a nomination for their Bridesmaids script. If you remember that was the first time a female duo had been nominated since Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen were cited for Silkwood back in 1983.

02 The last time two female nominees came from different films? 2007 when The Savages’s Tamara Jenkins and Lars and the Real Girl’s Nancy Oliver joined eventual winnerDiablo Cody (Juno). That was, coincidentally, the last time a female writer was on stage for a screenplay win.

03 On the Adapted Screenplay side, we have two female screenwriters coming from two different films (Room and Carol). That’s the first time its happened since 2003 when Shari Springer Berman (co-writer of American Splendor) joined eventual winner Fran Walsh (co-writer of Return of the King) in the nominee roster. And yes, you have to go back to 1995 to find a sole female screenwriter taking the gold (Emma Thompson for Sense and Sensibility), a year that also nominated Anna Pavignano for co-writing Il Postino.

Obviously, by the rule of statistical analysis -- which is foolproof and understands that subjective awards must follow mathematical calculations-- this means we're going to get a female writer up on stage this year, right?

Bets on whether Donoghue (Room), Nagy (Carol), Berloff (Straight Outta Compton) or LeFauve (Inside Out) will get to give a speech on February 28th?

The review was originally published in Nathaniel's column at Towleroad. It is reprinted here with their permission.

How does one act a hoarse voice? Short of screaming all night into your pillow before a key scene, as I’ve heard some actors do to simulate it, it’s not something that’s all that fakeable. This kept coming to mind watching Meryl Streep in Ricki and The Flash. Ricki Randazzo, her new aging rocker alter ego, sings/screams her lungs out all night with the house band of her local dive bar and works a demeaning low wage job all day. She doesn’t take care of herself. Ricki’s voice is hoarse for the entire movie. After admiring Streep’s dedication to nailing a character you might want to say a silent prayer or offer a symbolic lozenge for her vocal chords if they did in fact receive torturous screaming abuse behind the scenes in order to sound just this way. What did they ever do to deserve this?

Team Experience is counting down our 15 most anticipated. Margaret with our runner-up...

Rick Springfield & Meryl Streep. Will they make lovely music together?

Who & What: Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme teams up with Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody for a dramedy starring Oscar-winning(-and-winning-and-winning) actress Meryl Streep. The story is about a woman who left her family behind to realize her dreams of rock'n'roll stardom, and returns years later to try and make things right with them. The script has been described as funny and touching, and the supporting cast includes Kevin Kline (Sophie's Choice reunion!) and her daughter Mamie Gummer (Heartburn reunion!). If you listen really close, you can hear the sound of the HFPA penciling this onto their 2016 ballots for the Best Musical or Comedy Golden Globe.

Why we're excited about it: First of all, who among us can say they don't want to see Meryl "Greatest Living Actress™" Streep all tatted up, strutting around in leather pants and combat boots while shredding on an electric guitar? And given the creative talents involved, the potential for this is sky-high. Both Jonathan Demme and Diablo Cody may have some misses in their filmography, but Demme is on an upswing following actressy gem Rachel Getting Marriedand if there's a chance that Diablo Cody has written a lead character half as excellent as Mavis Gary in 2011's Young Adult I will be camping out in front of my local multiplex from right this second until opening night. Plus 'musician neglects family, becomes rock star' is a kind of story that's almost always told about men, and has been at least a dozen times in the past decade. Points for freshness!

What if it all goes wrong?: The last time Meryl worked with Jonathan Demme, it was on The Manchurian Candidate, one of her worst performances to date. There's also the omnipresent danger of Meryl fatigue.

When: August 7, in that dependable spot where Streep vehicles have had so much counter-programming box office success.

In the blog explosion that is Oscar night (both build up to and come down from) we end up missing LOTS of stories. Like saying goodbye to Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015) better known as Mr Spock. So let's kick off today's collection of news, casting notices, and randomness with the Vulcan

RIPNY Times on Leonard Nimoy's career which extended well beyond Spock. Space astronauts say goodbye from space R Michelson Galleries several collections of Nimoy's photography, he favored black and white nudes, are featured here

News & MiscellaniaGuardian thinks the blockbuster genre is in trouble in 3...2...1...Blackbook Oscar Isaac breaks out some dance moves in Ex Machina -- which makes me so sad that he has no interest whatsoever in musicalsTFE ...which he told me in our interview here. Vanity Fair Bobby Finger synopsis future installments of the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. This franchise will live forever!Playbill Bruce Willis and Elizabeth Marvel taking the James Caan and Kathy Bates roles for Misery on the Broadway stage. Good luck with thatIn Contention Joseph Gordon-Levitt as SnowdenEW Diablo Cody to pen a live action Barbie movie. I could see that working as a comedy. But did Toy Story 3 say all there was to say?Coming Soon Ridley Scott's company developing a franchise for Flashman based on a novel about a Victorian soldier. Scott is 77 and his list of upcoming projects is insane - how long is he planning to live exactly?Deadline shares a list of the top "actors" on social media. This is why we can't have nice thingsi09 will Battle Cat in the He-Man movie look like this? I forgot there was a He-Man movie coming. Can "Dom" from Looking star in it? He was modelling those looks already.

More MiscellaniaFilm Otaku now that two of the self-proclaimed 'Three Amigos!' have won Best Director will the third, Guillermo del Toro, be next?Awards Daily will we see Sir Ian McKellen get a best actor shot with Mr. Holmes? Queerty oops. Russell Tovey (Being Human, Looking) is putting his foot in his mouth about "masculinity" HuffPost Gay Voices Noah Michelson writes a passionate personal response. A Must Read.The Buckley Bulletin goes deep on A Place in the Sun. This is an old essay but if you love that movie it's a must-read. I had a really fun conversation about that George Stevens classic yesterday on Twitter

Ahhhh ♥Hugh Jackman from Instagram this morning. Which begs the question of how often he gets one.